Agile Coaches' Corner #WomenWhoCode: Betty’s Tips for Breaking into a Male-Dominated Industry
Today’s guest is Betty Pierce, a Senior UI/UX Developer at AgileThought. Betty has extensive skills in various front-end frameworks and libraries including React Native, React, and AngularJS. She is also the Director of Women Who Code Tampa and Trainer for GDI Tampa Bay. Her main passion is building front-end architectures for enterprise apps.
In this episode, Betty gives her perspective on the coding groups for women; the women’s groups she is a part of; how she, as an organizer, makes these groups accessible and welcoming for new members; how she runs the groups and participates in them; and how to get involved in these women-oriented groups yourself. She also gives her tips on how to get started and break into the industry as a woman!
Key Takeaways
About the groups Betty helps run and their benefits:
- Helps women stay in the technology profession (especially in the software and development field)
- Nice to have other women to relate to in a field mostly dominated by men
- As an organizer, how did Betty make these groups welcoming for new members?
- She picked an accessible, central location
- All events are free
- Offers a lot of introductory classes and meet-ups
- Always encourages members to join in and not be intimidated
Betty’s tips for getting started and breaking into this industry as a woman:
- Get uncomfortable and try new things
- Your approach and outlook with problem-solving may be different as a woman so don’t be afraid to speak up
- Go back to basics (composition 101) when presenting a topic
- Immerse yourself in events and local meetup groups (such as a Hackathon or one of Betty’s groups) to get exposure and brush up on your knowledge
Betty’s tips for getting involved in these women-oriented coding groups:
- Put yourself out there
- Encourage your friends and bring them along
- Don’t worry — other women will be there and they’re not a judgmental group
Mentioned in this Episode:
Betty Pierce’s LinkedIn and Twitter
Women Who Code Tampa Girl Develop It
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